A Magical Life
by lexityler
Summary: Gabby never wanted to leave home. She wanted to be on her beach in California. But she is a witch and her parents are making her leave home. Will a certain emerald-eyed boy change her mind? Formerly titled True Love Conquers All.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: Meet Gabby

I always loved looking in mirrors. When people first heard that they always thought I was stuck-up or snobby. But I wasn't. I didn't like to look in mirrors for reasons of vanity, but to try to figure out exactly who I was. I had never been able to figure myself out. I could tell easily what others were thinking, but my own mind was an enigma, it couldn't figure itself out.

Perhaps this love of mirrors is what attracted me to my next favorite thing: the ocean. Specifically, the warm, sunny southern California Pacific. My family was undoubtably the most prestigious wizarding family in California - on the entire West Coast, in fact. My father, Kevin Marshall, was the head of the American Ministry of Magic (AMoM)'s West Coast division; he managed everything magic-related that went on in California, Oregon, Washington and Nevada. My mother, Serenity Hayes-Marshall, was the daughter of a rich Floridian wizard, and she was the magical socialite _du jour _in wizard California. We had a lot of money, and we lived in a huge, luxurious beach house in Malibu with my sister Angelique, my brothers Mason and Greg, baby Harmony, and a veritable army of house elves. Me, Angelique and my brothers went to Malibu Magical Day School. The best part, however, was the beach. Oh, the beach. Toward one end it was sunny, and there were a few cabanas, lounge chairs and a deck on that side. But over to the other side - that was the place I loved. It was rocky, with tide pools, full of life, each one a little world of its own. I would flit from pool to pool, immersing myself in the life, the vibrance, in each little pool. When the tide came in I would climb onto the flat rock which my parents named Gabrielle's Rock, stretch out on my towel, and read or just lay there, listening to the cries of the seagulls and the soft lapping of the waves. I could stay there forever.

My mother said that my eyes were the color of the sea. It was true, they were a deep, ocean blue, exactly the color of the wild, yet inviting Pacific. They were my father's eyes, and my hair was a deep golden blonde. It fell straight almost to my waist, curling at the ends. I rarely cut it, it didn't need much maintenance. I was fourteen years old, tall and slender (I was 5'6" and only weighed around 100 pounds), with skin that was perpetually tanned, long, slim, shapely legs and B-cup breasts. Every time I went into town to do some shopping or go to school, guys asked me out. To the movies, to the park, to get some ice cream, just to make out (those were the most annoying ones.) I always said no. Hopelessly romantic as it seemed, I still firmly believed in true love conquering all. And I wasn't about to squander my life away with boys who only wanted me for physical reasons.

It was mid-August, nearing the end of a long summer of reading and relaxing on Gabrielle's Rock. That's my name, by the way. Actually, it's Gabrielle Serenity Marshall, but most people call me Gabby. On this particular day, I was extremely sad. For, you see, today would be my last night at home. Tomorrow I would be leaving to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It was one of the best wizarding schools in the world, and lots of wealthy American wizards sent their children there. My father had gone there, and he was sending me there to "get a good magic-based education." Even though MMDS was a good school, it wasn't tailored to the needs of someone of my social background. At least according to Dad. So I was going away to rainy, dreary Scotland. Sure there would be vacations, but I wouldn't be able to do my homework in the calming lull of the waves anymore. It was twilight, and the milky gray light was just beginning to replace the purples and pinks of sunset. I was straing dremily out the window, at the waves crashing on the beach, when I heard a knock on the door. "Come in," I said loudly. Freda, one of our house elves, came in.

"Miss Gabrielle, your mother said that dinner is ready on the terrace." I thanked her and went down to the terrace overlooking the ocean. We were having sushi, my favorite, tonight, to celebrate my going-away. I'm leaving! Yay! Sarcasm! My parents plastered big fake smiles on their faces throughout the whole meal, while my siblings unrolled the little maki rolls and Harmony spilles soy sauce on her white shirt. Finally, I couldn't take it any more. "Mother, can I be excused?" I asked. My parents exchanged glances but my mother finally said "Yes, Gabby."

I went out onto the beach. On my way out, I caught my reflection in the hall mirror. I was wearing my favorite sky blue tank top, it was the same color as my eyes, with a pair of white capri pants. I slipped on my white flip-flops and ran outside. I climbed up onto Gabrielle's Rock, getting my feet wet in the process, it was high tide and the water swarmed around my favorite rocks, eclipsing the tide pools. It saddened me to think that the next time this happened I would be in London, rainy, gray London, so far from home. I knelt down and unfastened the gold chain around my neck. It had been given to me when I was a baby, and there was a diamond pendant hanging from it. It had been charmed so that I could open it and put things in it, but no one else could. I opened it up and scooped up some of the warm, salty seawater. I closed the locket and held it against my heart. Now, even when I was far away, I would have part of home with me. Then I ran up to my room, got ready for bed, and climbed into my hammock outside, letting the waves soflty lull me to sleep.

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AN: Did you love it? Did you hate it? Please review!


	2. The Boy at Madam Malkin's

Disclaimer: Gabby and her family all belong to me. All other characters belong to JK Rowling.

When I stepped out the door of the hotel and into Diagon Alley, I was amazed. There were people walking around in cloaks and pointy hats. Cauldrons and spellbooks were lined up outside stores. Brooms were proudly displayed in storefront windows. I was so used to hiding the witch in me in America, this place - where magic was mainstream, where no one had to hide - shocked and intrigued me.

Earlier that morning my parents and I had bid my family goodbye and flooed to the Grand Hotel Merlin, right on Diagon Alley. We would spend a week in London buying school supplies and meeting people, then, on September 1, I would leave for school on the Hogwarts Express and Mom and Dad would return home.

London was chilly, but not as cold as I had imagined it. I had chosen my clothing in preparation for the worst, but I was able to take off my sweater and wear only my pale pink camisole, dark-wash jeans and silver ballet flats. My hair was straightened and fell loose around my shoulders. I noticed two boys who looked a few years older than me staring at me as I walked out the door.

"Do you have your list, Gabby?" my father asked. Both of my parents were wearing robes, like the rest of the people on Diagon Alley. In my jeans and cami, I felt a little awkward. I nodded, then took the parchment envelope out of my bag. I had recieved the letter on June 15, my fourteenth birthday. It contained a letter from Headmaster Dumbledore, a ticket for the Hogwarts Express, and a list of school supplies. It was the list that I wanted.

I opened it up and showed it to my parents

Uniform:

_Students will require_

3 sets plain work robes, black

1 plain pointed hat (black) for everyday wear

1 pair protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

One winter cloak (black with silver fastenings)

Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags

Set books:

_All students should have:_

_The Standard Book of Spells(_Grade 4) by Miranda Goshawk

_A History of Magic _by Bathilda Bagshot

_Magical Theory _by Adalbert Waffling

_A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration _by Emeric Switch

_One Thousand Magical Herbs & Fungi _by Phyllida Spore

_Magical Drafts and Potions _by Arsenius Jigger

_Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them _by Newt Scamander

_The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection_ by Quentin Trimble

Other equipment:

1 wand

1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

1 set glass or crystal phials

1 telescope

1 set brass scales

Students may also bring an owl, a cat or a toad

Students may bring a broom

"Wow," I observed, "that's a lot of stuff. We didn't need half this much in America!" I said. Dad nodded. "We'll go to Gringotts first."

After we went to Gringotts and filled three leather satchels with gold from our huge safe, we went to Flourish & Blotts, the book store on Diagon Alley, and bought all my school books. After that, my parents suggested we split up: Mom would go buy my cauldron, Dad would get my Potions ingredients, and I would go get my robes then go pick out my owl.

Madam Malkin's robe shop appeared empty when I cautiously pushed open the door. I wandered to the back of the room, where I saw a pale, blond boy standing on a stool and a short woman in magenta robes flitting arund him. They both looked up when they saw me. The woman rushed over. 'Oh hello, dearie!" she squealed. "Come on in. You're looking for Hogwarts robes, right?"

"Yes," I nodded, then climbed up on the other stool. After a minute, the boy turned to me. "I haven't seen you around before. Who are you?"

"My name's Gabrielle, but everyone calls me Gabby. What's your name/" I asked politely.

"Draco Malfoy," he said. It sounded like he was proud of it, like it meant something to be Draco Malfoy. I was always cautious about people like that.

I nodded, unfazed. Draco Malfoy frowned. "Are you foreign?" he asked.

"I'm from America, if that's what you're asking," I replied.

'Oh." he paused for a moment. "What house are you in?"

"I haven't been sorted. I'm new. I'll probably be in Gryffindor. My parents both were."

"I'm in Slytherin," Draco replied with the same sense of haughtiness, "it's the best house."

I was getting really annoyed, but tried to remain civil. I was good at controlling my temper. "What, um, year are you in?" I manage to ask fairly civilly.

"Fourth." _Oh great, my year, _I thought. _Well, at least he won't be in the same house. _

"What are you?" he asked abruptly.

"Huh?" I was confused.

"Pure-blood, half-blood, or...muggle born." he said that last one like it was disgusting.

"Oh, um, pureblood, I guess." All my ancestors were wizards, but I had never really thought about it as being important.

He was about to say something, but Madam Malkin's measuring tape snapped shut and she escorted me off the stool. Malfoy tried to say something, but I pretended not to hear him and walked as fast as I could out of the store. I was so eager to get away from that moron that I accidentally bumped into someone walking in through the door. I fell back, as one of the heavy books he'd been carrying hit me on the head. The last thing I remembered before fainting was a pair of emerald green eyes and a lightning-shaped scar.


	3. Gabby in Diagon Alley

When I opened my eyes, I was laying on a bench outside somewhere. I sat up but almost immediately I fell back down, my already injured head hitting the bench with a crack.

"Hey, I think she's awake." came a distant voice.

I sat up again steadying myself on the armrest of the bench, and managed to get into a normal sitting position, just in time to see a boy run up to me.

"Are you okay? I'm so sorry." he asked, worried.

"Huh?" I said, "Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just a little sore. What happened?"

I glanced up at the boy. Wow. He was hot! He had the greenest eyes I'd ever seen and the best messy black hair. His round glasses somehow made him even hotter and there was a scar shaped like a lightning bolt in the middle of his forehead. He looked worried.

"Don't you remember?" I could hear the anxiety in his voice. "You were leaving Madam Malkin's and I bumped into you and knocked you down. I think my spell book hit you on the head, and you passed out.

"Oh, yeah." I could remember knocking into someone and being hit, but only vaguely. In fact, everything that had happened after my encounter with Malfoy was fuzzy. "I'm fine now. Really."

"Are you sure?" the boy asked, his voice a mixture of scepticism and concern.

"Yeah," I smiled. "I'm Gabrielle, by the way. But everyone calls me Gabby.

"I'm Harry. Harry Potter. And these are my friends Ron and Hermione." He pointed to two people sitting on the bench next to the one I was on. One, a boy, had the reddest hair I had ever seen, and the girl had bushy brown hair and a pile of books almost obstructing her face. I waved at them, then turned back to Harry.

"Umm, where exactly are we?" I asked. I hoped we weren't too far away, I had to meet my parents for dinner at the hotel at six.

"We're at Florian Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. Oh, here, we got you an ice cream. Come over and sit with us."

I followed Harry to where Ron and Hermione were sitting. Harry handed me a hot fudge sundae.

"So, do you guys go to Hogwarts?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"Yeah. We're in Gryffindor. Fourth year. You?" said Ron as he licked ice cream off his spoon.

"Fourth year. Cool. That's what I'll be in." I smiled. Maybe I would have _some _friends.

"What house?" asked Hermione, looking up from her Arithmancy book.

"I'm new, from America. I haven't been sorted yet."

"Oh. Cool."

I noticed the big pile of books. "Why all the books?" I asked.

"Hermione always gets this many books. She reads everything she can get her hands on." explained Harry.

"Oh, have you read Twilight? I love those books!" I said.

"Oh my god, yes! I thought I was the only one at Hogwarts who read those books." she smiled at me.

"Not anymore." I checked my gold watch. "Oh, I have to go if I want to get back in time. Maybe I'll see you tomorrow?"

"That'd be great. See you." said Harry.

"See you," echoed Hermione and Ron.

I ran down the street to the Owl Emporium, almost out of breath by the time I got inside. There were owls of every shape and size in gold and silver cages, hooting almost nonstop. There were a few kids, mostly little kids, already there. Mom and Dad had told me to buy myself an owl so I could communicate with them in California. There were so many of them, I wondered how I would ever decide.

As I was looking around, I noticed a small silver owl. She had big, inquisitive blue-violet eyes and soft silver and white feathers. She hooted softly when I approached her and leapt onto my arm when I opened the door of her cage.

"That's a wonderful owl, miss. Very smart, light, and capable of making trans-Atlantic flights. She's well-trained and very smart. But awfully expensive. Six hundred galleons!"

At that moment, it didn't matter how expensive that owl was. I felt a deep connection with her, and I could tell she felt the same way.

"I'll take her."

I decided to name my owl Elisa, and after I paid for her I went to my last stop for the day: Ollivander's.

The store was almost empty by the time I got there. The only one left there was short, gray little Ollivander.

"Are you here for a wand?" he asked.

"Yes," I said.

"Which is your wand arm?"

"Um, the left."

"Hold it out."

I did as I was told, and a Ollivander tapped his tape measure and it darted off, measuring me all over. As it was measuring, he was flitting back and forth, pulling out wands and stacking them in a large pile by my feet. I felt my little pouch of gold. It was almost empty, since I had already paid for my books, robes and Elisa. I hoped I would have enough; I didn't want to have to go back to Gringotts alone.

I looked around the big room stocked with wands. I noticed one in particular in the corner high up. It seemed to glow, not physically, but sort of...subconsciously. It was hard to explain.

I turned to Ollivander. "How about that one? I asked, pointing."

He laughed, a short, shrill laugh. "Oh, no, not that one. That's a very....special wand. Twelve inches, olive and mermaid scale. Only mermaid scale wand ever made. They're extremely magical. It takes skill and strength of will to succeed with one, but if you do manage to harness it, the power is astronomical. Still, if you insist."

He got down the wand, opened it up and handed it to me. It was a rich, brown wood and felt strong and solid in my palm. I closed my fist. The wand felt like it had been made just for me. I held out my arm, and a series of blue and gold sparks emanated from the tip. The wand glowed even more noticably than usual. I knew immediately that this was my wand.

Ollivander looked immensely surprised, his bushy eyebrows almost touchng his wild hair. He mumbled to himself as he wrapped up my wand and counted up my change. I caught pieces of his self-conversation, pieces like "..may be the one..." and "very unusual..."

I quickly left, my wand, owl and robes in tow. The sun was setting and people were rushing to get their shopping done before nightfall. I walked as fast as I could back down Diagon Alley to the hotel, then took the elevator up to my suite, which was done in greens and blues, my favorite colors, since they were the colors of the ocean.

I changed into a light lavender sundress that set off my tan and exchanged my flats for three-inch silver heels. I brushed my hair and held it back with a lavender headband, then I grabbed my silver clutch purse and went down to the restaurant.

There weren't a lot of kids at Alohamora, the fancy restaurant of the hotel. I immediately found my parents, who were sitting in the restaurant's VIP section. As we ate, I talked about my new owl and my wand, while Dad showed my the gold telescope he had bought me and Mom discussed the merits of various cauldrons. Afterward, I went up to my room, where the hotel's house elves had already drawn a bubble bath. I took my bath, then I put on my black shorts and camisole that I wore for sleeping. I put Elisa back in her cage, then climbed into my bed and fell asleep.


End file.
